Tulsa Roughnecks are back in the NASL as early spring 2015

Close this thread please, SP.

You've already censored it and changed its title.
The first few pages contained a simple, casual discussion about bringing back the Roughnecks.
Now its title has been changed against the wishes of the person who started the thread in the first place.

If you feel that strongly about the Tulsa World article from last month, please start your own thread or put it in an NASL news thread.

Thank you.

 

Wow. Just wow.

 

I'd prefer that the Tulsa Athletics eventually find themselves in the catbird seat rather than the servants' quarters... a scenario that seems unlikely to happen over the course of the next 4-6 months...

Not interested in supporting any professional soccer team run by Jeff Lund.
Here are just two of the reasons why...

Summer 2006....
http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/...cle_9c315c84-ff9e-563f-a16d-21a094a9b0eb.html

Bitterness lingers between Talons co-owners Paul Ross and Henry Primeaux and former owner Jeff Lund. Ross and Primeaux say Lund misrepresented the condition of the franchise and the two Tulsa businessmen believe they were overcharged when they bought the team in 2004. Lund disagrees....

But Ross and Primeaux said they took over a franchise in shambles -- without a radio contract less than a month before the start of the season, and with only a third of the corporate sponsorships and season ticket sales to operate on a break-even basis.

Tulsa fans rankled when the new (ed: OKC Yard Dawgz arena football) franchise snapped up Strickland and most of the stars from the 2003 championship team. That made it seem like the Talons had moved to Oklahoma City, leaving Tulsa with an expansion team.

Summer 2013....
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsext...cle_6bf584c1-4c18-559d-9dec-79d5afc29c9e.html

"They were looking for a change," Rodney Steven said of Oilers management. "The old owner (Jeff Lund) has been here a long time and he supported this town for a long time. This is a time for someone else to step in and support this team."...

It was just two years ago the Steven Brothers filed a lawsuit against the former (ed: Wichita) Thunder owners, WIHO LLC and Jeffrey Lund. According to published court documents, WIHO and Lund hired people to erase files from the computers pertaining to the financial situation of the Thunder hockey team.

 

Press conference today.

 

Athletics nation- There will be an announcement today that in 2015 a group calling themselves the "Tulsa Roughnecks" will enter the picture in our town as a USL Pro team. I would like to make it clear where the Athletics stand on the matter. Firstly, the Roughnecks name is something that is very special to me personally. As a child I was one of many who was profoundly affected by the team coming to our city. Their presence here is the sole reason that I played soccer as a child, professionally, and is essentially the impetus to the forming of the Tulsa Athletics. Victor Moreland is like a father to me. I played for Steve Earle in my youth. I count Billy Caskey and Charlie Mitchell as friends. And like many, I've shared a cold beer with "the boomer" Alan Woodward. The Roughnecks name is sacred to me and to this city.

That being said...The Tulsa Athletics want to bring an MLS franchise to Tulsa. We've been clear about that from the beginning. We are your team. Your support affirms that the love for the game still runs strong through the veins of Tulsa and is the sole reason why we work as hard as we do for this club. Today's announcement as interesting as it may seem, does not actually affect the way we'll approach anything. We're still going continue to improve our stadium, grow our fan base, and put a fantastic product on the field. I am a Tulsan. A proud one at that. If a group from Oklahoma City thinks that Athletics Nation is going to lay down and quit, then they have read myself and Tulsans all wrong. We made a commitment to you to bring top level soccer to Tulsa, and we will carrying on doing that. Like a former Roughneck just told me on the telephone, "Just because they're called the Roughnecks, doesn't make them the Roughnecks".

Yours in soccer,
Sonny Dalesandro

 

Er, uh... no.
They're just trying to beat Brad and Jeff to the punch in Tulsa... both OKC groups suck in this regard.

 

I had a thirty minute meeting with Jeff a couple of weeks ago and have exchanged several emails with Brad.
I remain skeptical and am still perfectly comfortable questioning their motives.
IMHO, their highest priority is to battle Funk Jr and USL Pro which is not good for the sport or the city of Tulsa.

It's entirely possible, however, that over the next few months the Lunds and Sonny/Tulsa Athletics will have a "Come to Jesus" moment. At that point (and no sooner), all will be forgiven. Until then, I will fear any future news of a new Tulsa NASL team playing at Chapman Stadium just as I feared yesterday's announcement.

Just so we're clear, I currently prefer a Tulsa USL Pro club owned and run by the Tulsa Drillers/Hubbard brothers over the prospect of a Tulsa NASL club owned and run by the Lunds.

 

Drillers Win Freitas Award from Baseball America
Franchise recognized for sustained excellence
http://www.milb.com/news/article.js...id=64336140&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t260&sid=t260